1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a plastic container with lid, preferably of rectangular or oval planar cross-section, for holding granular, powdery, pasty or liquid materials, the wall of which has a top sealing edge for the load-bearing and sealing accommodation of a lid, the upper section of this container being provided with a locating part, said part being borne roughly at its center by a continuous supporting edge projecting in the vicinity of the sealing edge, and where the locating part is provided with an intermittent snap-on edge on the inside at the top, behind which the lid engages when put into place.
2. Prior Art
Such containers or buckets with lid are familiar in various forms. For example, the inner walls may be provided with roll-off ribs and the bottom with extension feet on the outside to allow the standardised application of printed pictures. In this way, they are designed to store the contained material safely, to prevent the undesired escape of this material and, similarly, the ingress of dust, dirt or moisture, to be mechanically stable and to allow opening without special tools and, if possible, tight re-sealing. The lid may be recessed to the level of the contents for better stackability.
Thus, for example, EP-A1-0287 980 describes a plastic bucket with associated snap-on lid where the edges of the bucket and the lid are designed in such a way that the lid seals and engages reliably. The top of the bucket wall is surrounded by a cylindrical ring with integrally moulded pockets for accommodating a carrying handle at diametrically opposite points on the perimeter of the bucket. At these points, the ring is extended downwards in an arc shape so that the lid engaged between the ring and the bucket wall can be grasped and lifted off.
In the case of rectangular containers or buckets, it is difficult or virtually impossible to grasp under the lid at the middle of the sides and lift it off. It is not practical to locate the pockets, with the ring extended downwards at this point, in the corners of the container because, on the one hand, this arrangement would be visually unappealing while, on the other hand, the carrying handle would have to be positioned diagonally.
Furthermore, the solution for paint buckets, described in EP-A1-0287 980, is unpractical because, when pouring, the paint can run between the cylindrical ring and the bucket wall with the result that re-opening of the paint bucket after previously re-closing it is made far more difficult as a result of the dried-on paint.
Another solution is known from GB-PS 14 89 515, which describes a plastic container with lid of circular cross-section for holding granular, powdery, pasty or liquid materials. The wall of this container has a top sealing edge for the load-bearing and sealing accommodation of a lid, and its upper section is provided with a locating part, surrounding the sealing edge at intervals. The locating part is borne by a continuous supporting edge projecting in the vicinity of the sealing edge. The fact that the top edge of the locating part and the supporting edge are extended downwards in the form of an arc to the level of the lower edge of the locating part creates a kind of recessed grip in this area which makes it possible to grasp below the retaining fold on the lid.
However, this solution does not eliminate the disadvantages described; specifically, it does not prevent the lid sticking to the container after pouring out the contents.